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Montague recall effort may be out of time

Posted: Aug. 19, 2013 11:54 pm Updated: Aug. 23, 2013 1:00 am

By ERIC OBERNAUER

eobernauer@njherald.com

MONTAGUE -- The effort to recall Montague Board of Education President Beverly Borrego has reportedly garnered more than 500 signatures in less than two weeks' time but faces an uncertain future based on the narrow time window left to fulfill the other requirements needed to get the measure on the November ballot.

"Given the ambiguity of the law, I thought we had until the end of August, but at this point I'm honestly not sure," said Paul Brislin, one of the organizers. "We are going to continue gathering signatures on this petition and are hoping to collect more signatures through the end of this week."

But by insisting on holding the recall on the same date as the Nov. 8 general election -- a decision he said was based on a desire to avoid the $15,000 cost of a special election -- Brislin acknowledged he and the other organizers may have boxed themselves into a corner.

Board member Barbara Holstein said she believes the organizers have already run out of time.

That's because, under the recall election law, a minimum of 10 business days are needed for verification of the signatures and an additional 10 business days must be allowed for a legal challenge. Additionally, the law requires a five-day period following the petition's final certification during which the elected official who is the subject of the recall effort -- in this case, Borrego -- could resign, thereby stopping the process. And even after surmounting those hurdles, the petitioners would still be required by law to have all their paperwork in place at least 55 days prior to the November election.

Sussex County Clerk Jeff Parrott said Monday he was unsure whether the organizers were out of time or not and was still looking into the issue. But, said Holstein, "hopefully the issue will be resolved in the next few days."

Had the organizers opted to have the recall decided in a special election at an undetermined future date, they could have taken up to 160 days to gather the needed signatures and would not have faced the limits imposed by seeking to have the recall held in November. "Knowing what I know now, I should have opted for the 160 days," Brislin said.

While the recall effort could theoretically be re-started, a new recall committee would have to be formed and the signature-gathering would have to start from scratch. Brislin downplayed that possibility but said, "I do think it's quite an accomplishment to come up with this many signatures in less than two weeks," a reference to the Aug. 7 date when their notice of intention was approved.

In a separate development, the Township Committee -- of which Brislin is a member -- is expected to take up a proposal Aug. 27 seeking a legal

injunction that would allow time for an administrative law judge to review the school board's actions leading up to the send-receive agreement with High Point Regional High School, which the Montague board approved in a 4-2 vote on July 24.

Under the law, a public body -- or even a private citizen -- has 90 days to appeal the decision of a local school board with the Education Department's Bureau of Controversies and Disputes, which can then arrange for a hearing. The Township Committee, in appealing the matter, would not have to take a position on the High Point agreement itself but could simply delineate what it believed to be the inappropriate actions by the school board leading up to its enactment.

Although he has said his efforts in the recall effort are strictly those of a private citizen, Brislin said he would ask his fellow Committee members to consider retaining special legal counsel to advise them in the matter.

"It's important to realize that the actions taken up to this point by the Montague Board of Education can still be rescinded," said Brislin. "If they can terminate a school agreement with Port Jervis that's been in effect for nearly 100 years, then certainly an agreement with High Point where the ink hasn't even

dried on the document can be terminated."

However, even if an administrative law judge were to hear the matter, Education Commissioner Chris Cerf would still have the final say.

Holstein said the High Point agreement -- which sets the stage for Montague to begin a phased pullout of township middle and high school students from the Port Jervis, N.Y., schools next year -- is final and cannot be undone.

"She (Borrego) is taking a hit for this, but even if this recall does go through -- and I don't believe it will -- it's not going to impact the contract with High Point," Holstein said. "Even though this has been a rough road of late, I believe we're doing what's academically best for the children of Montague."

Separate from the High Point agreement, but still related to those plans, the Montague board also is looking to raise a projected $7.7 million for an expansion of the township elementary school to house students in grades seven and eight.

Holstein -- who voted for the High Point agreement last month along with Borrego and board members Tom Bolen and George Gelderman -- is up for re-election this fall and is one of seven candidates running for three seats on the board. Also up for re-election is James Marion, who was joined last month by board member Adrienne Raefski in opposing the agreement.